After being left in awe by the many sites in Seville, consider visiting a few charismatic towns that are only a short drive away. In Jerez de la Frontera you can sip on sherry while watching a lively flamenco show. Maybe you’d rather explore Carmona’s cobblestone streets that run between not one, but two historic alcázars. Or you may prefer Medina Sidonia’s picture-perfect medieval homes. Any or all of these cities make great day trips from Seville.
You can read about the many sites in Seville in our post Explore Seville’s Architectural Wonders. Continue reading below for ideas on day trips from Seville.
Jerez de la Frontera
First, we’ll take you an hour south to Jerez de la Frontera. Having been occupied by many civilizations, it was the Moors who firmly established a city on this site. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Almohad Moors built a fortress, or alcázar, and a large wall around the city. By the middle of the 13th century, Jerez was under the control of the Kingdom of Castile. This put the city of Jerez on the border between the Muslims and Christians, so it adopted the second part of its name and was called Jerez de la Frontera.
The term Moors is used to describe Arabic and Berber Muslims who inhabited Andalucía and much of the Iberian Peninsula between the 8th and 15th centuries. It is a broad term that includes many different tribes and empires, some of which got along, while others were at war.
Historic Centre
Today the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera still displays some of its Moorish beginnings. Its entire outer wall still stands on the only hill in town, and allows you to appreciate how impenetrable it was.
Not far away is the very interesting looking Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral. Its array of domes, spires and towers indicates that it is not your standard church. The 17th century church originally was built as the Collegiate Church of San Salvador. It was only made into a cathedral in the 1980s. There are great details in the mix of Gothic, Baroque and Neoclassical designs such as quirky waterspouts, statues of saints around the dome, and flying buttresses on the upper levels.
The façade is very elaborate with sculpted plasterwork, fancy columns, dozens of statues and stained glass windows.
A few blocks away, San Miguel Church (Iglesia de San Miguel) is similar, although much less ostentatious than the cathedral. It is decorated with carved stucco designs, flying buttresses and a pointy bell tower. It’s looking quite weathered today, but both of these churches demonstrate how wealthy this city once was.
Sherry in Jerez
That early wealth in Jerez came from its sherry wineries. What makes sherry unique is that it can only made from palomino, moscatel, and Pedro Ximinez grapes. It is then fortified with brandy or other alcohols, making the process similar to port. Known as the Sherry Triangle, Jerez and surrounding lands have the perfect conditions to grow these grapes.
Interestingly the name for this drink, “sherry”, is a mispronunciation by the British of the Spanish name Jerez. Since we tasted port in Porto, we thought we should go for sherry tasting in Jerez. Just outside the city’s historic centre are several wineries. We tried to have a tasting at a few of them, but they all have very limited hours. Many only do tastings in the morning. Instead of drinking sherry at 10 am, we did our own tasting in the afternoon at one of the many patios in town.
Most sherries are distinguished by their blend of varietals rather than by age. It ranges from the very dry fino, to very sweet, Pedro Ximenez. We tasted them in that order as well. The dry fino tasted a little like yeast to us, and we didn’t enjoy it. We preferred the sample of cream sherry. It was smooth and fruity. To us, it tasted the most like tawny port.
Flamenco
The other famous cultural icon from this region of Spain is flamenco, a lively combination of folk music and dance. We had heard that the best place in Jerez to see a show is the hundred-year-old wine bar, Tabanco El Pasaje. Serving a variety of sherries and local wines, patrons can enjoy the atmosphere of this old space while watching a traditional flamenco show.
The bar has an intimate setting with small tables crowded up against the small stage. The band included a guitarist, singer and dancer. Percussion was added by clapping and heel tapping. The songs are said to be about death, anguish, despair, or religious doubt. Dressed in a flowy red skirt, the dancer twirled, tapped and raised her arms to the beat of the music. Without understanding the words, we could read the song’s emotions on her face.
We sipped on sherry while enjoying the flamenco show at the historic wine bar. This was by far, our favourite activity in Jerez.
Here’s a short video of the performance.
Where to stay and eat in Jerez
Although you can visit Jerez on a day trip from Seville, there’s enough to do in this town that you may want to stay a night. There are several options for hotels and apartments within walking distance of the historic centre. Don’t expect to fina a lot of parking in the downtown are though, so try to park on the streets leading up to it.
You can find dozens of restaurants in the historic downtown. Most seem ready for tourists since their meal times are more flexible than Spain’s typical very late dinner hour. Prices are a little higher in this touristy area, but they’re not unreasonable.
How to get to Jerez
It is an easy drive on good highways from either Seville or Cadiz. It’s also easy to reach by train from either Seville or El Puerto de Santa María, near Cadiz.
Carmona
Only 30 kilometers northeast of downtown Seville is the charming historical town of Carmona. Said to be the oldest, continually inhabited town in Spain, Carmona still has remnants from its Roman and Moorish rulers. The original wall has sections that were built by both and gives the town a lot of character. The other detail that makes Carmona unique is that is has two alcázars. Visiting Carmona is an easy and enjoyable day trip from Seville.
Gate of Seville (Puerta de Sevilla) was the first sign that we would love Carmona. This old, keyhole shaped gate allows passage through the thick city walls
The entrance to Alcázar of the Gate of Seville is in the middle of this gate. It is now a museum with a few scattered remains as far back as the 14th century BCE. Each successive empire added to the fortress so that by the 16th century AD, it had the elements we see today.
The best part of the fortress is to climb to the top of its Tower of Gold (Torre del Oro). From there, you can see the many church steeples poking above the town’s terra cotta tiled roofs.
From the alcázar, we continued to walk through the long Gate of Seville. Waiting for us on the other side was a magical scene. The old, tight streets of the medieval town are fringed by whitewashed homes with wrought iron balconies. Even the street signs are pretty.
Of course, being a Spanish town, there are also a lot of historic churches on those narrow streets.
San Francisco Square (Plaza de San Francisco), in the centre of town, was a busy place when we arrived. A bike race was just about to begin so there were a lot of people and bikes milling about. Even with all of the traffic, we could still appreciate the lovely buildings that surround it.
Santa Clara Convent (Convento de Santa Clara) is not only a lovely old building, it is also known for its delicious almond cookies. The convent’s nuns bake the cookies, as well as other treats, and sell them on site. They were yummy and the package of cookies we bought didn’t last long.
At the opposite end of town is the Roman-built Cordoba Gate. Its appearance has been altered a few times over the years, but considering its age, it is in remarkable condition.
The second fortress in the city is Alcázar de Arriba, also called Alcázar of Rey Don Pedro. It was built by the Almohad Moors and remodelled by King Pedro. The alcázar was badly damaged in a few different earthquakes and has only been partially restored. Today, it’s the site of Parador de Carmona hotel. Paradors are government owned luxury hotels, built in historic and scenic spots. We saw many more of them in our travels through Andalucía.
How to get to Carmona
The historic city is 30 minutes from downtown Seville, and only 15 from the airport. It is a very easy drive on a good highway. There are also quite a few buses travelling between Carmona and downtown Seville.
You can find more Pueblo Blancos in our post A Guide to Spain’s Pueblo Blancos.
Medina Sidonia
A little over an hour south of Seville is the pretty town of Medina Sidonia. Picture perfect white-washed homes line the cobbled streets surrounded by old city walls. Above them, the remains of a castle are a reminder of life in medieval times. Medina Sidonia is so special that it deserves its own post. You can read about Medina Sidonia here.
Arcos de la Frontera
Another option from Seville is the picturesque town of Arcos de la Frontera. From the highway we saw its white homes climb the craggy peak up to a medieval castle. We didn’t have time to stop, but wish we did. It’s only 30 kilometers from Jerez de la Frontera and is worth a visit.
You can find these cities and towns on the left side of the map below. Click on the map for an expanded view.
To read more of our adventures in Spain, click here.
Coming Next – What To See In Beautiful Cadiz, Spain
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